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Semin, power play help Capitals edge Thrashers

Feb 27, 2009 - 4:22 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Alexander Semin had a goal and two assists as the Washington Capitals used three power-play goals to skate past the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-3, on Thursday.

Defenseman Mike Green recorded a goal and an assist while Brooks Laich and Eric Fehr also tallied for Washington, which ended a five-game homestand with a 3-2-0 mark.

All-Star Ilya Kovalchuk and Todd White collected a goal and an assist apiece and Rich Peverley also tallied for Atlanta.

The special teams units were on display for both teams as five of the seven goals in the contest came with a man in the penalty box.

"When we're getting our power plays, it's from working hard down low and then we're causing the other team to make mistakes," Green said.

After the Thrashers rallied from a two-goal deficit to knot the score at 2-2, Green's 23rd goal of the season with 7:35 remaining in the second period put Washington ahead for good.

The league leader for defenseman in goals, power-play goals and points, Green slapped a one-timer past Kari Lehtonen for his 16th tally with the man advantage, which is also the most for NHL blue-liners.

"It's hard because we play every other day and you don't really think about it when you're playing," Green said of tying the franchise record for power-play goals by a defenseman, set by Scott Stevens in 1984-85.

"I play with some of the best players in the world, so I've got to give them credit. I had no idea."

Fehr's insurance goal early in the third proved to be crucial when White took a feed from Kovalchuk and beat rookie goaltender Michal Neuvirth to pull Atlanta within a goal with 1:57 remaining.

"He was cutting off the angles all night," Fehr said. "He wasn't letting up any rebounds. When your goalie is doing that, it makes the jobs of the D-men and the forwards a lot easier."

Neuvirth won for the second time in as many starts, stopping 21 shots for the Capitals.

"He's a great young goalie," Green said. "What's great about him is he's so calm for a young guy. Most young guys are really tense, and with him, he's very calm and that's why he's going to be very good. The shots that were coming in, he wasn't letting rebounds out."

Washington tied a season-high in goals with the man-advantage, converting on 3-of-8 chances. Power-play goals by Semin and Laich 57 seconds apart in the early going of the first periods staked the Capitals a two-goal bulge.

"We just gave them too many chances tonight and eventually they're going to put some in on you," Thrashers coach John Anderson said. "We're not a team that can afford to give too many chances because of our record on the power play. We have to be a little smarter with our sticks and stuff."

With the Thrashers on the man-advantage, Kovalchuk netted his team-leading 32nd of the season to cut the deficit in half late in the first and Peverley tied the game 3:56 into the second.

"You know they are a good team, but we respect them too much," Kovalchuk said. "That's why we're kind of, I don't know, lazy ... or we didn't show up tonight. Right after the start, we had those two stupid penalties and it was 2-0. ... We came back, but it wasn't enough."

Lehtonen made 36 saves in the losing effort for Atlanta.